Authorities at the Nimule border post along the South Sudan-Uganda border have confirmed that the border officially reopened Friday after a brief closure following the tensions in the town that saw two police officers allegedly killed by pastoralists on Thursday.
On Tuesday, 20 people were shot dead, 11 others injured and over 10,000 head of cattle raided in the Melijo area of Nimule town in Magwi County.
The inspector of police in Nimule town, Maj. David Khasmiro, told Radio Tamazuj Friday morning that the border has been reopened and traffic was flowing normally.
“The border is not closed, it is opened. It was only yesterday (Thursday) that it was closed temporarily because of this problem but now it is working normally,” he said. “People are moving but I cannot say, sometimes it is calm. It is unpredictable because there are meetings among the cattle keepers. Some of their people came from Juba, their reinforcements. This is what is ongoing and we are on standby.”
He added: “Looting of cattle is criminal and it took place there in the village but they came to destabilize the security situation within the town that is why we are very upset.”
Oryema Emmanuel, an activist in Eastern Equatoria State, condemned the violence in Nimule and called for calm between the host communities and the pastoralists.
“I think the conflict is between the host communities and the cattle herders. Also, the cattle raiders are part of what led to the serious mess in Nimule town and the shooting of police officers,” Oryema said. “We are asking for calm and if the host communities are not coexisting with the herders, the herders should find a peaceful means of evacuating the area so that there is no confrontation.”
He said the raiders who stole cattle on Tuesday night were not known and the herders should not revenge and vent their anger on innocent people and inconvenience travelers who cross the border.